Lucy & Oscar (6 years)

"...Oscar is stopping now. I needed it to be his choice. Boobing through dry nursing in pregnancy and aversion when tandem feeding, having to put boundaries in to make it manageable. But I needed it to stop on his terms. Maybe because it felt the most natural. Maybe a sort of an apology for all the things he doesn’t get to decide. Maybe because I’m tired and it was just easier. Maybe because it’s so full of health benefits for us both. Maybe as a middle finger to those who try to say the most beautiful and normal human behaviour is wrong. Maybe because we both needed to go slower than modern life demands.

Who knows.

What I do know is that it’s been foundational in my mothering and an incredibly special part of our relationship. And one I will always shout about, above the voice of a disconnected society, so that others who find themselves on this path know to walk it with pride.

We don’t have to rush."

Outtakes from my new Milk book project, about mother's breastfeeding beyond babyhood.